What's Next: Luxury in a Turbulent World

The International Luxury Conference 2018 will take place on November 12-13 in Hong Kong.

Vanessa Friedman and top editors from The New York Times last November brought together leaders from myriad industries at the annual International Luxury Conference in Brussels, the European Union’s seat of power, against a global backdrop of dramatic political and economic change.

In these tumultuous times luxury’s decision makers are facing challenges that will transform their industry — from rapid technological evolution to growing nationalism to new patterns of consumer behavior.

Through provocative interviews with C.E.O.s, policy makers, entrepreneurs, celebrities and thought leaders, Friedman and her colleagues explored how luxury companies can win in a world where the only constant is change, and the biggest risk is taking no risk at all.

Hosted by

Vanessa Friedman

Fashion Director

The New York Times

Vanessa Friedman was named fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times in March 2014. In this role she leads global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and its International Edition on all platforms.
Before joining the paper, Ms. Friedman was the inaugural fashion editor of The Financial Times, beginning in 2003. Along with editing the Style pages and the Luxury360 vertical, she wrote a weekly column for the Weekend edition, and created the FT’s annual Business of Luxury conference.
Previously, she was the fashion features director for InStyle from 2000 to 2002. Before that she worked as a fashion correspondent for the FT, as an arts contributor at The Economist, and was the European editor at American Elle. In addition, she contributed regularly to Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly.
She is the co-author of “Emilio Pucci” published by Taschen Books, as well as an honorary professor at Glasgow Caledonian University. She was the recipient of the 2012 Front Page Award for fashion writing, and the 2013 Fashion Monitor Journalist of the Year Award.
Ms. Friedman received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.

Moderators

Hanya Yanagihara

Editor in Chief, T Magazine

The New York Times

Hanya Yanagihara, a fourth-generation Hawaiian, was born in Los Angeles, California. As a child, her family lived in a number of locations in the United States due to her father's occupation, including Hawaii, New York City, Baltimore, California, and Texas.
Following her graduation from Smith College, Massachusetts in 1995, Ms. Yanagihara moved to New York and worked for several years as a publicist with Random House. In 2007, she began writing for Condé Nast Traveler where she became an editor, before leaving in 2015 to become a deputy editor at T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
Her debut novel, “The People in the Trees,” based on the real-life case of the virologist Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, was praised as one of the best novels of 2013.
Ms. Yanagihara's second novel, ‘A Little Life,” was published in March 2015, again receiving predominantly favorable reviews. Described by The New York Times as ‘a sui generis phenomenon that became a runaway hit,’ the book made most best-seller lists, and was named to the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize for fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 2015.
Ms. Yanagihara was appointed editor in chief of T Magazine in May 2017.
She currently lives in New York City.

Steven Erlanger

Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, Europe

The New York Times

Steven Erlanger became the chief diplomatic correspondent, Europe, of The New York Times in September 2017, after four years as the newspaper’s London bureau chief. Before that, he was five years as bureau chief in Paris and four years as bureau chief in Jerusalem. He has served as Berlin bureau chief, bureau chief for Central Europe and the Balkans, based in Prague, and chief diplomatic correspondent, based in Washington. From 1991 to 1995, he was posted in Moscow, after being Bangkok bureau chief and Southeast Asia correspondent from 1988 to 1991. In New York, he was culture editor from 2002 to 2004.
Previously, Mr. Erlanger worked for The Boston Globe. He was European correspondent, based in London, from 1983 to 1987, and deputy national and foreign editor. He reported from Eastern Europe, Moscow and revolutionary Iran.
He shared a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for a series on Russia in 2017 and for Explanatory Reporting for a series on Al Qaeda in 2002. He won ASNE's 2001 Jesse Laventhol Prize for deadline reporting for his work in the former Yugoslavia and the German Marshall Fund's Peter Weitz Prize in 2000. He was awarded the 2005 Eliav-Sartawi Award for Middle East journalism.
He graduated from Harvard College in 1974 and studied Russian at St. Antony's College, Oxford. In 2013, he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French Republic for services to journalism.

Elizabeth Paton

European Styles Correspondent

The New York Times

Elizabeth Paton is the European styles correspondent for The New York Times, based in the paper’s London bureau. She covers breaking news, interviews industry leaders and emerging talent, and writes analysis focusing on the boardrooms and backrooms of the continent’s $180 billion fashion and luxury industries. Her areas of interest include business, tech and sustainability, alongside Fashion Week coverage from London, Milan and Paris.
Before joining The New York Times in 2015, Ms. Paton was a news reporter for The Financial Times covering breaking news, having spent three years as the FT’s fashion and luxury correspondent based in New York.
Prior to joining the FT in 2011, she was the assistant online editor at the Style magazine of the Sunday Times of London.
Ms. Paton graduated from Balliol College at the University of Oxford with an M.A. in English literature in 2009.

2017 Speakers

Enrico Letta

Former Prime Minister of Italy, Dean, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, and President

Jacques Delors Institute

Enrico Letta was appointed dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in September 2015. He is president of the Jacques Delors Institute and the Italy-ASEAN Association. He is also the founder of la Scuola di Politiche and l’Académie Notre Europe. He served as prime minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014.
Previously, Mr. Letta served as minister for E.U. affairs from 1998 to 1999, as minister for industry, commerce and crafts during the second government of Massimo D’Alema from January to April 2000, as minister for industry, commerce and crafts and foreign trade during the second government of Giuliano Amato from 2000 to 2001, and as under secretary of state to the prime minister of the centre-left government led by Romano Prodi between 2006 and 2008.
Between 2001 and 2015 he served as a member of the Italian Parliament, excluding the period between 2004 and 2006 when he was a member of the European Parliament. He also served as deputy secretary of the Democratic Party from 2009 to 2013.
From 1993 to May 2013, Mr. Letta managed an independent think tank, the Agenzia di Ricerche e Legislazione, or Arel, founded by the late Beniamino Andreatta. He was also vice chairman of the Aspen Institute Italia and president of the Italy-Spain Dialogue Forum.
Mr. Letta was born in Pisa in Tuscany, central Italy, and spent the first years of his life in Strasbourg. He is an international law graduate of the University of Pisa, and obtained his Ph.D. in European Union law from the Sant’Anna School for Advanced Studies in Pisa. His entire career and endeavors have been shaped by his strong commitment to Europe.
He is the author of many books on international and economic affairs, with particular reference to E.U. enlargement, including “Euro sì. Morire per Maastricht,” 1997; “Dialogo intorno all’Europa,” with Lucio Caracciolo, 2002; L’allargamento dell’Unione europea,” 2003; “L’Europa a venticinque,” 2005; “In questo momento sta nascendo un bambino,” 2007; “Costruire una Cattedrale,” 2009; “L’Europa è finita?” with Lucio Caracciolo, 2010; “Andare insieme, andare lontano,” 2015; “Contro venti e maree. Idee sull’Europa e sull’Italia,” 2017; “Hacer Europa y no la guerra: Una apuesta europeísta frente Trump y el brexit,” 2017; and “Faire l’Europe dans un monde de brutes,” 2017.
Mr. Letta and his wife Gianna are the proud parents of Giacomo, Lorenzo, and Francesco. He is an avid N.B.A. fan and an A.C. Milan supporter.

Antoine Arnault

C.E.O.

Berluti

Born in Roubaix in northern France, Antoine Arnault studied business management at HEC Montréal and received an M.B.A. from the prestigious Insead graduate business school near Paris.
Following a brief stint as an internet entrepreneur and co-founding the web registration company Domainoo, Mr. Arnault joined LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2002 and served in a number of core positions at the heart of the LVMH empire. He was elected to the board of directors in 2005 and became director of communications at Louis Vuitton in 2007.
In this role, he led a series of successful projects aimed at articulating the group’s three fundamental values of creation, excellence and an entrepreneurial attitude. Among these, the popular Core Values campaign, a series of photos by Annie Leibovitz of various international icons posing in scenic locales with Vuitton bags, has enjoyed enormous success and won considerable industry acclaim since its launch in 2007. He is also praised with creating the group’s “Special Days” initiative, giving free, behind-the-scenes, public access to the various maisons of LVMH. Initially launched in 2011, the events allow enthusiasts to witness the craftsmanship and expertise of the group’s designers and artisans. The most recent, in May 2016, registered a record attendance of 145,000 visitors over the three-day event.
In 2011, Mr. Arnault was appointed chief executive officer of LVMH-owned Berluti, the Paris-based company specializing in high-quality shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear for men. He also became chairman of Loro Piana, the Italian luxury goods brand renowned for using only the finest raw materials including cashmere and vicuña, having taken a leading role in the negotiations that resulted in the group taking a controlling stake in the company in 2013.
Mr. Arnault lives and works in Paris.

Stella McCartney

Designer

Born and raised in London and the English countryside, Stella McCartney graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1995.
Her signature style of sharp tailoring, natural confidence and sexy femininity was immediately apparent in her first collections and she was appointed creative director of Chloé in Paris in 1997.
Ms. McCartney launched her own fashion house under her name in a joint venture with Gucci, part of the Kering Group, and showed her first collection in Paris in October 2001.
Her collections include women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie, eyewear, fragrance and kids. The Falabella handbag, originally launched in 2010 and distinguishable by the braided chain detail, has become one of the designer’s top-selling items. She recently debuted her first men's wear collection and a women’s swimwear collection under her eponymous label in 2016.
In addition to the main line collection, the brand established a long-term partnership with Adidas in 2004. The critically acclaimed sports performance collection, Adidas by Stella McCartney, has since successfully grown to include several athletic disciplines, including running, gym, yoga, tennis, swimming, winter sports and cycling. In addition, Ms. McCartney was appointed Team GB’s creative director by Adidas when London hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012 - the first time in the history of the Games that a leading fashion designer has designed the apparel for a country’s athletes across all competitions for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The designer was reappointed as Team GB’s creative director for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.
The brand now operates 51 free-standing stores in locations including Manhattan’s Soho, Mayfair and Brompton Cross in London, West Hollywood in Los Angeles, and the Palais-Royal in Paris, alongside boutiques in Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. Her collections are now distributed in 77 countries through 863 outlets including specialty shops and department stores, as well as shipping to 100 countries online.
A lifelong vegetarian and staunch supporter of animal rights, Ms. McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. Her commitment to sustainability is evident across her collections, and forms an integral element of the brand’s responsible ethos.
Ms. McCartney is the recipient of numerous designer of the year awards, and was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to fashion in 2013.

Steve Shiffman

C.E.O.

Calvin Klein Inc.

Steve Shiffman is a leading executive in the global fashion and retail industry, serving as the C.E.O. of Calvin Klein Inc., a subsidiary of PVH Corporation. In this role, he leads one of the world’s largest and most successful designer fashion brands.
Mr. Shiffman has over three decades of retail experience and is a member of the PVH Corporate Operating Committee. In his role as C.E.O., he concentrates on business strategy, product, marketing and sales development for all Calvin Klein product lines, including CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC, CK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear brands.
Mr. Shiffman joined PVH in 1992 and has held several positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure. Among these appointments, he served as president and C.O.O. of Calvin Klein Retail, where he was responsible for all aspects of retail apparel and the accessories business, including design, sourcing, merchandising, planning, distribution and visual marketing. He then served as group president and C.O.O. of PVH Retail, where he oversaw the company’s Bass, Izod, Van Heusen and Calvin Klein retail divisions. He also served as president and chief commercial officer for Calvin Klein Inc. before being appointed C.E.O. in June 2014.
Prior to joining PVH, Mr. Shiffman held leadership positions in buying and merchandising with Macy's. He graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Mr. Shiffman lives and works in New York City.

Victor Luis

C.E.O.

Tapestry

Victor Luis drives Tapestry’s strategic direction and financial performance, in addition to serving on Tapestry’s board of directors. Tapestry is a direct result of Mr. Luis’s long-term vision of creating the first New York–based house of modern luxury lifestyle brands. He oversaw Tapestry’s first acquisition, Stuart Weitzman in 2015, and most recently the acquisition of Kate Spade in 2017.
Mr. Luis joined Coach in 2006 as president and C.E.O. of Coach Japan, and rapidly assumed additional leadership responsibilities across Asia and Europe, becoming chief commercial officer in 2013 and then C.E.O. of Coach Inc. in 2014.
In addition, Mr. Luis is currently interim C.E.O. of Kate Spade.

Jonathan Akeroyd

C.E.O.

Gianni Versace S.p.A.

Jonathan Akeroyd was appointed C.E.O. of Gianni Versace S.p.A. in June 2016.
Prior to Versace, he built a track record of strong leadership during his 12-year tenure at Alexander McQueen. As C.E.O., he steered the British fashion house to continued growth as a major luxury player, overseeing the strategic expansion of the brand’s retail network and signing licenses in fragrances and eyewear, as well as the introduction of the diffusion line, McQ. Mr. Akeroyd managed the company during one of the most turbulent periods in its history, with the death of its founder in 2010. His leadership is credited with navigating the company through that chapter and guiding it to continued growth and success as one of the most recognized British fashion labels in the world.
Mr. Akeroyd began his career in retail at Harrods, where he spent 15 years. Beginning his path as store manager, he continued in the role of men's wear buyer and subsequently became merchandising director of three divisions. His career at Harrods culminated with him being named executive merchandising director in 2002.

Francesca Bellettini

President and C.E.O.

Saint Laurent

An Italian national, Francesca Bellettini started her career in London as an investment banker, working at Goldman Sachs International, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Compass Partners International.
In 1999, she joined the Prada Group in the planning and new business development division, and was appointed operations manager of Helmut Lang in 2002.
Ms. Bellettini joined the Kering Group in 2003 as strategic planning director and associate worldwide merchandising director of Gucci. In November 2008, she was appointed worldwide merchandising director of Bottega Veneta and then promoted to worldwide merchandising and communications director in November 2010. Appointed in September 2013 as C.E.O. of Saint Laurent, she is currently president and C.E.O. of the maison and also a member of Kering’s Executive Committee.
Ms. Bellettini holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics from Bocconi University in Milan.

Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye

C.E.O.

Chloé

Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye became C.E.O. of Chloé in September 2010 and recruited Clare Waight Keller as creative director in 2011. Since then, Chloé collections gathered fresh momentum infused by a rejuvenated Chloé girl.
Prior to joining Chloé, he was chief executive of Liberty of London from 2007 to 2010, and is credited with the iconic British brand’s renaissance and turnaround. As a result, the Liberty flagship store and renowned fabrics regained their former avant-garde fashion status. The historical landmark has been voted best store in London by Time Out three years in a row since the 2009 revamp.
Mr. de La Bourdonnaye joined Liberty from LVMH where he spent three years as president of Christian Lacroix.
Before LVMH, he spent 13 years at Disney, where he headed the merchandise licensing division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and also the retail and supply chain operations of Disneyland Paris. Prior to Disney, he spent five years at PepsiCo, where he was operations director for France and Belgium. He started his career in sales and marketing roles at Kronenbourg, then part of Groupe Danone, and L’Oréal.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from EMLyon and an M.B.A. from Insead. His interests include football, fashion photography and mountaineering. He has climbed Mont Blanc and several other peaks exceeding 4000 meters.
A native of Lyon in France, Mr. de La Bourdonnaye is married with four children. He lived in London for nine years and was voted French businessman of the year in 2010 by the French community of London.

Alex Bolen

C.E.O.

Oscar de la Renta

Alex Bolen is the C.E.O. of Oscar de la Renta, the international luxury goods firm headquartered in New York City.
Mr. Bolen, who was named C.E.O. in July 2004 after serving as the company’s director of corporate development, joined Oscar de la Renta in January 2003. Since joining the fashion house, he has focused on driving the brand’s expansion strategy in the United States and globally with the launch of branded stores, starting with the Oscar de la Renta flagship store in New York’s Madison Avenue in 2004.
Prior to this, Mr. Bolen had a 14-year career on Wall Street focused on leveraged finance, most recently at Bear, Stearns & Company where he was managing director in the mezzanine capital group.
Mr. Bolen graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies.
He and his wife, Eliza, who serves as Oscar de la Renta’s executive vice president, are the proud parents of three boys.

Rodrigo Bazan

C.E.O.

Thom Browne, Inc.

Rodrigo Bazan was appointed C.E.O. of New York-based Thom Browne, Inc. in May 2016. In this role, he is leading the successful expansion of the brand in both women’s and men’s categories, as well as driving direct-to-consumer expansion on a global scale. Since Mr. Bazan’s appointment, Thom Browne, Inc. has opened two more directly operated stores in Beijing and Milan with a new store in London’s Mayfair coming soon.
U.K.-based online luxury retailer Farfetch announced that the forthcoming launch of its “Store of the Future” will take place at the flagship Thom Browne store in New York. The concept will bring the digital revolution to the physical retail store, where the vast majority of personal luxury goods purchases are predicted to continue taking place despite steady increases in online sales. By capturing invaluable data and offering a complete omnichannel offering enhanced by in-store technology, the store aims to bridge the gap between online searching and in-store browsing, and consolidate Farfetch’s position as a pioneer of fashion industry innovation, placing Thom Browne, Inc. at the forefront of the digital luxury market.
In taking up his appointment with Thom Browne, Inc., Mr. Bazan stepped down as president of Alexander Wang, a role he had occupied since 2010. As the brand’s first-ever president since its launch in 2005, Mr. Bazan successfully led Alexander Wang’s product and business growth, with strategic repositioning onto designer floors, and the rollout of 27 stores worldwide. Additionally, under Mr. Bazan’s leadership, the brand pioneered a number of global initiatives, becoming the first American designer to collaborate with H&M in 2014, among others.
Between 2007 and 2010, Mr. Bazan worked as vice president and general manager at Marc Jacobs for Europe, the Middle East and India. Prior to this, Mr. Bazan worked at Gucci Group in Florence, where he became chief financial officer and later general manager of Alexander McQueen. He began his professional career as a consultant working with Deloitte & Touche in Buenos Aires, and subsequently at Motorola’s European headquarters in London.
Since 2012, Mr. Bazan has served as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund business advisory committee.
Mr. Bazan was born in Argentina. He was educated in Argentina, Germany, and the United States, and is a graduate of the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in Buenos Aires.

Sonu Shivdasani

Founder, Chairman and C.E.O.

Soneva

Sonu Shivdasani was born and studied largely in England. He is an alumnus of Eton College and Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, and a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he received an M.A. in English literature. While the role of founder, chairman and C.E.O. of Soneva keeps him busy, he still finds time to enjoy reading, art, architecture, wine, traveling and wellness.
Mr. Shivdasani and his wife Eva opened their first property, Soneva Fushi, in the Maldives in 1995, creating a high-end market in what was formerly a mass tourism destination. Soneva Fushi pioneered the trend of luxury holidays in the Maldives, especially back-to-nature luxury holidays. The couple also started the Evason and Six Senses group of resorts and spas across Southeast Asia and Europe.
In 2012, the two companies were sold to focus on Soneva-owned resorts with private residences as part of the “One Owner, One Operator, One Philosophy, One Brand” strategy.
Soneva continues to lead the industry in sustainable luxury. Soneva resorts have won numerous awards, including the Condé Nast Traveler ‘Best of the Best’ award for Soneva Fushi. Each Soneva resort uses only natural and sustainable building materials. Plastic is banned and as much produce as possible is grown or caught locally to reduce the carbon footprint and support the local economy. The Soneva concept, Intelligent Luxury, was the forerunner and inspiration for a host of imitators who saw the potential in going green.
The Shivdasanis also established the Soneva Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the development and operation of projects and campaigns that have a positive environmental, social and economic impact. One of these is Whole World Water, an initiative encouraging the hospitality and restaurant industry to serve only water produced on site, rather than imported bottled water, and invest the savings in clean water projects around the world.
The foundation has also raised millions of dollars from Soneva’s environmental levy, which has been used to fund forest restoration programs planting around half a million of trees in northern Thailand, and initiatives including a windmill in South India, and heavily subsidized cooking stoves in Myanmar and Darfur. These stoves have benefited around 180,000 people so far, and are extremely efficient, reducing the need to fell trees, as well as toxic indoor emissions and household expenditure on firewood.

Jean-Marc Loubier

Executive Chairman, Delvaux, and President and C.E.O.

First Heritage Brands

Jean-Marc Loubier has extensive international experience in the luxury, fashion and retail industries, overseeing the reorganization, repositioning and development of international companies in Europe, Asia and North America.
Mr. Loubier currently serves as executive chairman of Delvaux and as president and C.E.O. of First Heritage Brands (FHB), an industrial investment company he created in 2011 with partners from Hong Kong and Singapore. FHB owns ready-to-wear brand Sonia Rykiel, Delvaux, the oldest fine leather luxury goods company in the world, and French shoemaker Robert Clergerie. Mr. Loubier leads each of these companies, bringing vision and strategy to help the brands develop their potential globally.
Prior to this, Mr. Loubier held a number of key management positions during his 16-year tenure at luxury empire LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. He served at Louis Vuitton Malletier from 1990 to 2000 as executive vice president in charge of product, communication and retail, and as president and C.E.O. at Celine from 2000 to 2006. After leaving LVMH, he served as C.E.O. of Escada between 2007 and 2008.
Mr. Loubier currently serves as a nonexecutive board member of Hong Kong-based LiFung Trinity Group. He was an independent nonexecutive director on the board of luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces Harry Winston, based in Toronto. He sits on the board of La Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, the governing body of the French fashion industry. He is also a director of Comité Colbert, the association of leading French luxury companies.
Mr. Loubier graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and holds an M.B.A. from the École de Hautes Études Commerciales.

Reed Krakoff

Chief Artistic Officer

Tiffany & Co.

Reed Krakoff is chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. He directs design for Tiffany & Co. brand jewelry and luxury accessories, as well as leading the brand’s overarching artistic and design vision for stores, e-commerce, marketing and advertising. He joined Tiffany & Co. in February 2017, after collaborating with the brand in 2016 on a luxury accessories collection.
Mr. Krakoff is an American designer with a career that spans over 25 years. After receiving his degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design in New York, he began designing for classic American design houses such as Anne Klein and Ralph Lauren.
He became renowned throughout the industry for his time spent with iconic accessories brand Coach, and spent most of his 16 years with the company as president and executive creative director. He is recognized for revamping and reviving Coach’s image, as well as driving the brand’s annual sales from $500 million to $5 billion. In 2010, he launched his eponymous line of women’s ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes and accessories.
Mr. Krakoff’s contributions to the industry have been recognized with such distinctions as being elected vice president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2007, where he remained for three years. He continues to serve on the board of the CFDA and holds the title of head of admissions. A strong supporter of young designers emerging in the fashion industry, he has been a judge and mentor for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund for the last decade. He also serves on the Parsons board of directors, and, since 2003, on the Parsons board of governors.
Mr. Krakoff has been honored three times by the CFDA with the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, and has also been recognized with various awards from the Accessories Council. He is a passionate patron and supporter of the arts and received the Whitney American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2013.

Julie Wainwright

Founder and C.E.O.

The RealReal

Julie Wainwright is an e-commerce pioneer and former C.E.O. of Reel.com and Pets.com. In 2011, she founded the RealReal, a web-based luxury goods consignment platform offering a high-end, high-touch buying and selling experience with a rigorous authentication process. Originally based in her dining room, the RealReal is now the premier site for online luxury consignment with over 600 employees and multiple locations across the United States for authenticating, accepting, and shipping products worldwide.
In 2017, she was honored among TechCrunch’s list of 100 female founders who had a great 2016, and named by The San Francisco Business Times as one of the most influential women of the year. In 2016, Ms. Wainwright and the RealReal were awarded the Innovation in Retail e-commerce award by Fashion Group International. In 2015, she was named to the Business of Fashion 500 list, featuring the most influential people shaping the global fashion industry. In the same year, the RealReal was awarded the “Game Changer” award by W Magazine and Decoded Fashion. In 2014, she was named one of TechCrunch’s "40 Over 40" Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and recognized by The San Francisco Business Times as one of the most admired C.E.O.s of the year.
Ms. Wainwright is a frequent speaker at industry events including Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit, Decoded Fashion summits, and Financial Times global conferences, alongside top academic institutions including Purdue and Stanford universities.
She is the author of “Reboot: My Five Life-Changing Mistakes…And How I Moved On,” published in 2009. She actively supports dozens of local and national nonprofit organizations focused on women, children and the arts.

William McDonough

C.E.O., McDonough Innovation

Co-Founder, MBDC and Co-Author of "Cradle to Cradle"

William McDonough is a globally renowned leader in sustainable development. Trained as an architect, his interests and influence range widely, and he works at scales from the global to the molecular. A fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an international fellow of the Royal Institute of Architects, Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet,” noting: “His utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.” He is the visionary behind Fashion for Good, a joint industry initiative launched in 2017 which aims to transform the global apparel supply chain and revolutionize the fashion industry so that people, companies and the planet can flourish together. As part of the initiative, Mr. McDonough was instrumental in the creation of the world’s first recyclable/compostable T-shirt in collaboration with global retailer C&A.
Mr. McDonough has written and lectured extensively on design as the first signal of human intention. In 1991 he was commissioned to write “The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability” as a framework for the City of Hannover’s Expo 2000, still recognized two decades after publication as a touchstone of sustainable design. In 2002, together with German chemist Dr. Michael Braungart, he co-authored “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,” which is widely acknowledged as a seminal text of the sustainability movement. Their latest book, “The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance,” was released in 2013.
Mr. McDonough advises commercial and government leaders worldwide through McDonough Innovation. He is also active with William McDonough + Partners, his architecture practice, as well as McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, or MBDC, the Cradle to Cradle consulting firm he co-founded with Michael Braungart. Together, the pair also founded two nonprofit organizations to allow public accessibility to Cradle to Cradle thinking. GreenBlue was established in 2000 to convene industry groups around Cradle to Cradle issues, and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute was launched in 2009 to expand the rigorous product certification program.
Mr. McDonough has received multiple awards and accolades throughout his career. In 1996, he received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, and the first Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2003 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 2004, he received the National Design Award for exemplary achievement in the field of environmental design.
Mr. McDonough is the architect of many recognized flagships of sustainable design, including Ford’s River Rouge truck plant in Michigan; the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, Ohio; and NASA’s Sustainability Base in California, one of the most innovative facilities in the federal portfolio. He was inaugural chair of the World Economic Forum’s inaugural Meta-Council on the Circular Economy from 2014 to 2016, and currently serves on the Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Environment and Natural Resource Security. In 2017, he received the Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, where he was hailed as “the father of the circular economy.”
Mr. McDonough graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and received his master’s degree in architecture from Yale University.

Alexander Gilkes

Co-Founder

Paddle8

Alexander Gilkes is the co-founder of Paddle8, the world's leading online auction site for art and collectibles. Since launching in 2011, Paddle8 has raised over $70 million in funding and produced over 1,400 auctions. With over $600 million in bids and over $165 million in inventory sold, Paddle8 has changed the way that a new generation of collectors access art and rarities.
Mr. Gilkes started his career at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and then served as chief auctioneer at Phillips auction house where he hammered down new records for the company, including the sale of a Mark Rothko for $56 million, and Andy Warhol’s “Quadruple Marilyn.”
Mr. Gilkes is widely recognized as the leading auctioneer of his generation, and has wielded the gavel for charity events for Madonna, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party auction.
During his career, Mr. Gilkes has sold over $1 billion of art and design from the podium. Among many honors and accolades, he has been named among the ArtReview Power 100 listing of the most influential people in the art world, the Apollo art magazine’s 40 Under 40, and the most creative people in business by Fast Company, the business, technology and design magazine. He also featured on Vanity Fair’s International Best-Dressed List in 2013.
Mr. Gilkes was recently appointed a contributing editor for arts at British Vogue.

Marek Reichman

Chief Creative Officer

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited

Born in Sheffield, England, Marek Reichman graduated from Teesside University in Middlesbrough with a first-class honors degree in industrial design, and continued his studies in vehicle design at the Royal College of Art in London.
After beginning his design career with Rover Cars in 1991, Mr. Reichman joined BMW Designworks, the company’s global creative consultancy, at the California studio in 1995 as senior designer. Here he led the overhaul of Land Rover design for future production models, the most significant becoming the third-generation Range Rover introduced in 2003. He joined Ford in 1999 as chief designer for the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands, and rose to the position of director of design for product at Ford North America.
Mr. Reichman joined Aston Martin in 2005 as director of design and has strengthened the company’s iconic styling during one of the most prolific periods of new model introductions for the British marque. These have included the recently launched Vanquish S Volante, the company’s latest V12 convertible; the Aston Martin Vulcan track-only supercar; the Vantage S; and the DB11, Aston Martin’s latest grand tourer coupé.
In December 2007, Mr. Reichman and Aston Martin opened the new design studio at its Gaydon Headquarters in Warwickshire, England. This state-of-the-art facility at the heart of Aston Martin's operations brings the company's design team together in a dedicated studio space for the first time. Designed, planned and constructed in less than 12 months, the elegant prefabricated timber structure was named among the winners of the 2008 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awards.
Mr. Reichman has been heavily involved with some of the world’s most iconic cars throughout his accomplished design career. These have included the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Lincoln MKX, and the Lincoln Navicross concept cars. He is a regular judge at design awards and is frequently invited to speak at international events and conferences.
In 2008, he was invited to take up the position of visiting professor at the Royal College of Art, allowing him the opportunity to give new students an insight into modern automotive design. In 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from Teesside University.

Nathalie Remy

Partner

McKinsey & Company

Nathalie Remy is a partner of McKinsey & Company. Based in Paris, she serves as co-head of McKinsey’s work for fashion, beauty, and luxury goods companies in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Ms. Remy focuses on growth strategy, international expansion, brand positioning, merchandising, and omnichannel sales in the fashion, beauty, and luxury industries. She has deep knowledge in the areas of branding, product offerings, and optimization of sales channels. She also drives commercial transformation programs, retail models, and formats.
Ms. Remy contributed substantially to the research for McKinsey’s Cityscope initiative, a predictive tool for analysing economic factors, sociodemographic variables and consumption trends based on data for 2,000 major cities. Drawing on this work, she also helped to produce the McKinsey Global Institute report “Urban world: Cities and the rise of the consuming class.”
Ms. Remy joined McKinsey & Company in 2000 having previously worked as a consultant for Mercer Management Consulting.
She is a graduate of the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, and received her M.B.A. from Insead, Fontainebleau, near Paris.

Tao Liang

Fashion Blogger

’Mr. Bags’

Tao Liang, otherwise known as ’Mr. Bags’, is one of the most influential bloggers in China.
Based in Beijing and renowned for his insights into fashion, and handbags in particular, Mr. Tao creates content on luxury bag trends and caters to both male and female consumers. He is regarded as one of China’s most powerful influencers and key opinion leaders in the luxury sector, and has been commissioned by a number of designers and fashion houses to promote products in the lucrative Chinese market.
Mr. Tao graduated from Columbia University in New York and has amassed over three million fans and followers on social media.

Laura Pancera

Global Head of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Positioning

UBS

Laura Pancera is a senior banking professional with an established track record in wealth management. She is currently global head of ultra-high-net-worth positioning at UBS, responsible for driving and implementing the group’s thought leadership strategy. Her focus is on redefining the client experience and providing superior content and advisory tools, with the ultimate goal of creating a lasting legacy for the bank’s wealthiest individuals and families. She also leads the development of client communities. Previously, she was responsible for globally formulating and implementing ultra-high-net-worth sales and client development strategies.
Ms. Pancera holds a master’s degree in finance and has broad product knowledge, sharp analytical skills and is passionate about driving wealth innovation. She joined UBS in 2000 and spent time in Geneva, Zürich, Hong Kong and Singapore. Prior to this, she acquired management consultant experience in the financial sector at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson

President, International

The New York Times Company

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson is the president, international of The New York Times Company and is responsible for revenue oversight and strategic development of The New York Times Company’s international digital and print business.
Mr. Dunbar-Johnson was appointed president, international of The New York Times Company in October 2013 to lead the global expansion of the company. Previously, he was publisher of The International Herald Tribune (IHT), a position he assumed in January 2008. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of the IHT with responsibility for worldwide commercial operations and strategic development. He oversaw the IHT’s expansion in Asia, the growth of its advertising revenue streams, the development of its conference business and the luxury conference series in particular, new product development and the restructure of the newspaper’s cost base.
Before that, he held the position of senior vice president and commercial director, where his primary responsibility was for newspaper revenue streams. He also played a key role in the integration of advertising and other aspects of the IHT’s commercial operations when The New York Times took full ownership of the IHT in 2003.
Before joining the IHT, Mr. Dunbar-Johnson was U.K. advertising director of The Financial Times for 12 years, holding various positions in the paper’s advertising department, including manager in France and vice president of advertising in the Americas, based in New York.
Mr. Dunbar-Johnson was educated at Worth School and Kent University in England. He has completed an executive management program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Sulzberger program at the Columbia School of Journalism.

Sara Ziff

Founding Director

Model Alliance

Sara Ziff is the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a nonprofit research and policy organization that promotes fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor. She has worked as a model for nearly two decades and fronted campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, and Stella McCartney, among others. In 2010, she produced the feature documentary “Picture Me,” which chronicles her own experiences and those of other models in the industry.
In 2013, Ms. Ziff spearheaded and oversaw the passage of the Child Model Act, which extended child labor protections to underage fashion models in New York State. She also helped introduce legislation that would create the first federal protections for child performers, and recently announced a proposed New York State law to protect models from sexual harassment.
Since founding the Model Alliance, Ms. Ziff has also collaborated with international labor rights activists and organizations to connect women working across fashion's global supply chain, and bring attention to garment workers' rights violations.
Ms. Ziff graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in political science, and received her M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Rebecca Robins

Global Director

Interbrand

Rebecca Robins is global director for Interbrand, a division of Omnicom, based in London. She heads up the global luxury practice and global business intelligence, and also runs the Interbrand Academy. Having worked in New York and across Europe, she has extensive experience in branding with a diverse range of clients across a number of industries.
A keen writer, Ms. Robins has contributed articles to The Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, and La Tribune and writes the LuxuryWatch blog on the Brandchannel website. Her commentary on brands features in The Business of Fashion, The Economist, The Financial Times, GQ, Luxury Society, Monocle magazine, The New York Times, The Times of London, The Daily Telegraph, WWD, Wired, World of Business Ideas (WOBI), and Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore. She is a regular conference speaker, guest lecturer, and member of awards juries, and was named among Luxury Daily’s Luxury Women to Watch 2014. She is a companion of the Chartered Management Institute and serves on a number of Omnicom’s committees, as well as various group leadership and network initiatives.
Ms. Robins is co-author of “Meta-luxury: Brands and the Culture of Excellence,” published in 2012. Her research interests focus on the relationship between brands and culture.
A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Ms. Robins has a first-class bachelor’s degree in French and German, and a master’s degree in European literature. She also speaks Spanish and Italian, and loves art and music.

Eric Underwood

Ballet Dancer, Movement Director and Model

Eric Underwood was a soloist with the Royal Ballet in London for 11 years until July 2017. He now divides his time between working as a choreographer, and balancing his fashion-based projects.
Mr. Underwood has danced in theaters worldwide, including tours across the United States, Russia, China and Italy. His roles include Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments” and “Agon,” Forsythe’s “workwithinwork,” and Tharp’s “In the Upper Room.” He has played central antagonist Von Rothbart in “Swan Lake,” as well as roles in “Cinderella,” “Manon” and “Sylvia.”
Taken under the wing of the fashion industry, Mr. Underwood has starred in features including the highly respected SHOWstudio series with Nick Knight, and the biannual GQ Style magazine with David Bailey. He is currently appearing in campaigns for Samsonite shot by Rankin, and Hackett.
Mr. Underwood is featured in the November issue of Esquire, and has been on the cover of London-based ES Magazine. He was was shot by Mario Testino alongside Kate Moss for Vogue Italia. He recently worked on the Givenchy Gentleman fragrance campaign, and continues to be recognized as a key figure on the London fashion circuit.

Stephen H. Baum

Leadership Coach

Stephen H. Baum is a renowned leadership advisor and coach. For more than two decades, his mission has been to help established leaders take their performance and contentment up a notch, and help those who aspire to be the best grow their leadership core.
In his private practice with C.E.O.s from large corporations to smaller firms, Mr. Baum engages clients in self-discovery and personal development through both thinking and action, influencing their leadership and business decisions in the face of challenges.
Mr. Baum is also chair of an international C.E.O. peer advisory board at Vistage, a leading business advisory and executive coaching organization, in New York City. This enables him to maintain an inside view of today’s leaders in large enterprises and small businesses, both private and public, across a diverse set of industries.
As a partner of 10 years with management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, he was entrusted by C.E.O.s of Sony Pictures, Turner Entertainment, NBC West Coast, Marriott Hotels, Florida Power & Light, Ecolab and other large enterprises, with opportunities to orchestrate their senior management and planning retreats, and act as coach to company leadership and senior teams.
Mr. Baum’s expertise has also been shaped by roles in education and public service. He has served as senior examiner and instructor of examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest level of recognition awarded to U.S. companies that have successfully implemented quality management systems. He has also served as chief judge of the Connecticut Excellence Award.
Mr. Baum is the author of the best-selling leadership book “What Made jack welch JACK WELCH: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders,” published in 2007. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.